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Thursday, January 18, 2018

Aquinas Leadership International Update - January 2018

Peter A. Redpath emails "about some developments related to the Aquinas Leadership International (ALI), affiliate organizations, and other groups interested in ALI’s work."

● Fifth Annual Aquinas Leadership International World Congress Topic

The chief topic for the ALI 20 to 22 July 2018, 5th annual Aquinas Leadership International Conference at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, Long Island, NY, USA, will be:

“Artificial Intelligence and the Futures of Philosophy, Global Leadership, and World Peace”

If you would like to co-sponsor this meeting, prepare a paper, participate in, or organize, a panel related to this topic, contact the Congress Chair, Peter Redpath, at: peterredpath@aquinasschoolofleadership.com

● Dr. Curtis L. Hancock to Deliver Inaugural Lecture

The Aquinas School of Leadership announces that Freeman Chair of Philosophy at Rockhurst Jesuit University Curtis L. Hancock will deliver the inaugural lecture for the newly-formed “Aquinas School of Leadership Lecture Series” in Phoenix, AZ, in early March 2018, on the topic:

“Perennial Lessons about Happiness from Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas”

More details to follow in our next news update.

● Enrichment Course on The Organizational Genius of St. Thomas Aquinas now running

On 16 January 2018 Aquinas School of Leadership Center for Leadership Coaching (ASLCLC), offered the first of its 15-week, 1-hour, online, international, classes on “The Samurai Thomism of Miyamoto Musashi as an Application of the Tao of St. Thomas Aquinas” dealing with the organizational genius of St. Thomas Aquinas.

This course includes a mix of graduate student and executive participants (from business, the military, and institutes [for example, the Center for the Study of The Great Ideas, the London Center for Policy Research, West Point graduates, the Caux Roundtable, the Adler-Aquinas Institute, and other international leadership groups]).

The focus of attention of this class is on Musashi's short work The Book of the Five Rings and organizational principles of St. Thomas.

The chief aim of this course will be to show that what made this 17th-century Japanese Samurai warrior the master of Samurai fighting of his time was his consistent application of psychological organizational principles that comprise the organizational genius of St. Thomas Aquinas. For information about this class and this program contact Peter Redpath at:

The end of the two world wars saw the fall of mighty empires—from the Tsarist Empire, the Kaiserreich and the Ottoman Empire to the Third Reich and the Japanese Empire. This was followed by the dissolution of the French and British empires in the 1950s and 1960s. After 1989, the demise of the Soviet Union—dubbed the "evil empire"—seem to confirm the triumph of liberal democracy over tyranny and of national independence over imperial domination. The age of revolution from 1789 to 1989 appeared to mark the end of empire.

But at the same time, the post–Cold War era is often characterized as the hegemony of the Anglophonic liberal empire led by the United States of America. Officially, the United States denies that it is in the business of building an empire, arguing that the independent United States came into existence precisely to throw off the shackles of colonial rule and to fight imperialism everywhere. Donald Rumsfeld famously said in 2003, "We don't seek empires. We're not imperialistic. We never have been." In the same year however, Karl Rove—adviser to George W. Bush's—was quoted as saying that "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."

According to the historian Niall Ferguson, "the United States is an empire in denial, and U.S. denial of this poses a real danger to the world. An empire that doesn't recognize its own power is a dangerous one." If so, then this has implications for Trump's America and just as much for both contemporary Russia and China. Putin's actions in Crimea, Ukraine, and Syria suggest that there is a profound continuity with the Soviet Union and Tsarist Russia. And the "Chinese Dream" invoked by Xi Jinping is the idea that the "Middle Kingdom" will regain what many in China see as her ancient birth-right since the Qin dynasty—a global primacy at the heart of world affairs.

Much of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophy and history focused on the decline and fall of empires and civilizations. Faced with the resurgence of imperial politics, a question for the twenty-first century is rather about the endurance of empire both in theory and practice. From Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's conception of empire as multitude via Pierre Manent's work on the metamorphoses of Western political organization to ideas of liberal empire in International Relations (John Ikenberry or Michael Ignatieff), the attempt to renew this theme requires critical engagement.

Today there is a further twist. Alongside the resurgence of old empires and the emergence of new ones, we are also witnessing the return of nationalism and a reaffirmation of the nation-state as the natural locus of sovereignty. Brexit and the election of Donald Trump reflect popular unrest and a rejection of dominant elites in the name of "taking back control" and "making America great again"—a consequence of the liberal imperium. This raises questions about the endurance of both nationalism and imperialism. Appeals to imperial traditions have often met with ridicule. "Neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire," Voltaire quipped. Yet this ignores long-standing continuities in terms of both ideas and institutions, which were marginalized by revolutions but never entirely destroyed.

The 2018 Telos Europe conference will explore the endurance of empire, its nature and meaning. Among others, the questions that will be debated include the following: Are we witnessing the resurgence of old empires or the formation of new ones? Are empires based on economic power and military might, or on ideology and cultural appeal? Winston Churchill remarked that the empires of the future would be "empires of the mind." Can power be contained or is it inherently imperial?

The specific topics of the conference include, but are not limited to, the following:

·The meaning of empire and imperial power

·The legacy of empire

·Westphalia and the rise of national states and transnational markets?

·Empire, church/mosque/temple/synagogue, and city-state as alternatives to the Westphalian system of states and markets?

·The Atlantic West as a liberal empire? Are liberalism and empire contradictory or compatible?

·Western vs. non-Western empires (Russia, China, Muslim caliphate)

·Old and new empires—ideology and cultural appeal

·Nationalism, imperialism, and capitalism

·Contemporary conceptions of empire in philosophy, politics, and IR

Conference Speakers

Russell Berman (Stanford University and Telos)Christopher Coker (London School of Economics and Political Science)Lord (Maurice) Glasman (Common Good Foundation; House of Lords, London)Adrian Pabst (University of Kent and Telos)David Pan (University of California, Irvine, and Telos)Nicholas Rengger (St. Andrews University)Richard Sakwa (University of Kent)

Abstract Submissions

Telos invites scholars from all disciplines to submit 250-word abstracts along with a short c.v. to europe2018@telosinstitute.net by March 30, 2018. The criteria for selecting abstracts are as follows:

·relevance to the conference theme

·original analysis and argument (not summary or description)

·focus (conference presentations should be no longer than 15–20 minutes)

The University of Houston invites Anselm scholars to submit abstracts for papers on any aspect of St. Anselm: his theology, correspondence, monasticism. career, teaching, prayers, governance of Bec and/or Canterbury, friendships, friends and associates, or legacy for presentation to the Conference in shorter papers. Proposals for twenty-minute papers for the Conference of about 250 words may be sent by February 1, 2018, to Sally N. Vaughn, snvaughn@sbcglobal.net

● The International Society for Neoplatonic Studies, 13 to 16 June 2018

The International Society for Neoplatonic Studies announces that its 16th annual conference will be held in Los Angeles on 13 to 16 June 2018 in conjunction with Loyola Marymount University. Panel proposals are due January 22, 2018, and abstracts for presentations (for the panels and for individual sessions) are due February 26. The ISNS will provide a link to the conference website when it is available.

For more information, see:

●Scientia et Fides Journal Call for Papers

The journal Scientia et Fides(a joint-venture, open-access, online journal published twice a year by the Faculty of Theology of Nicolaus Copernicus University, in Torun, Poland, in collaboration with the Group of Research “Science, Reason, and Faith” [CRYF], at University of Navarra) seeks rigorous research works regarding different aspects of the relationship between science and religion. SetF articles are not confined to the methodology of a single discipline and may cover a wide range of topics, provided that the interdisciplinary dialogue between science and religion is tackled. The Journal accepts articles written in English, Spanish, Polish, French, Italian, and German, which will be evaluated by a peer-review process.

The National Women Leadership Conference, a two-day summit for women in higher-education, is seeking speakers.

The conference is Oct. 2-3, 2018 at the Harvard Faculty Club in Boston, and we are seeking topic proposals related to women in higher-education leadership. Attendees are senior-level university administrators from around the nation.

If you or someone you know would like to speak, please submit a proposal through the conference website: https://natdc.org

Current NAS members will receive a discount code by email for a $25 discount. If you are a current NAS member and have not received this code by 12/7, please email Ashley Thorne atthorne@nas.org.

● Colson Fellows Program and 2018 Wilberforce Weekend

Applications are now being accepted for the 2018-2019 class of the Colson Fellows Program!

The Colson Fellows Program is a 10-month-long “deep dive” into the Christian worldview. You will read classics of the Christian faith, participate in on-line webinars with world-class speakers, and attend residencies that will allow you to meet like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ who are on this journey with you.

You are cordially invited to the 2018 Wilberforce Weekend! The Wilberforce Weekend is an annual gathering designed to equip believers in Christian worldview and prepare them for cultural renewal. As the flagship event of the Colson Center, the weekend features world-class speakers, networking of Christian leaders, and a homecoming reunion of friends and alumni of the Colson Center / Colson Fellows program. Highlighting the weekend will be the inspirational recognition of a Christian leader with the Wilberforce Award on Saturday evening—followed by the official commissioning of the 2018 class of Colson Fellows on Sunday morning.

● A New Monograph of Possible Interest from Roman & Littlefield/Hamilton Books

Peter D. Beaulieu’s recently-published A Generation Abandoned explores the disruptive cultural events especially of the past half century as these have undermined the confidence of the young in themselves and in civil society, and finally in our place in the universe. Among other topics, the work considers “secular humanism” as the cleverly, court-established secular religion of the US.

Receive a 30% discount from the publisher by using code HAM30AUTH17 (toll free 1-800-462-6420 or email: customercare@rowman.com, or also online: rowman.com). The book is also available through Amazon.com and the Barnes and Noble Booksellers.

● Gregory Sadler’s Honest Book Review of William Ferraiolo’s Publication, Meditations on Self-Discipline and Failure: Stoic Exercise for Mental Fitness

Consistency in American/British English as needed. Elimination of repetition, assistance with organization if needed.

English fluency for authors whose first language is other an English.

Depending on the intended readership, alert authors to places where jargon can be replaced with ordinary language, or with clear explanation of the meaning of terms (occasionally, suggest notes and citations where the core concepts are more fully developed).

Formatting according to house style of publisher with which book is under contract, with special attention to required documentation formatting.

Research to complete citations, quotations, bibliographic data, etc.; ensure that quotes are properly and accurately attributed

Remain alert to issues of historical accuracy (suggest revision based on facts researched and presented to author)

Creating camera-ready copy; as opposed to type-setting, this is special formatting to create the final formatting ready for printing as-is, with no additional revisions by the publisher (includes removing orphans, widows, ladders)

Program Committee: James G. Hanink (President), James M. Jacobs (Vice-President and Program Chair), Joshua W. Schulz (Secretary and Web Editor), Heather M. Erb (Treasurer), Giuseppe Butera (General Editor). 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of Jacques Maritain’s acceptance of a teaching post at Princeton University. There he was to be a cultural ambassador between Europe and America. Maritain was often to serve as an ambassador and always as a constructive and creative Thomist.

In his great work Distinguish to Unite or the Degrees of Knowledge (4th ed., 1959), and in Science and Wisdom (1940) and Philosophy of Nature (1951), Jacques Maritain proved to be an ambassador to contemporary science and, more broadly, the many ways of knowing. Biology, physics, and psychology; space, time, relativity, and quantum theory—he engaged each in light of the perennial philosophy. Other Thomists shared his enthusiasm; Yves Simon and Charles De Koninck come immediately to mind.

The conference, then, invites proposals on topics including causality, chance, scientific explanation, evolution, hylomorphism, physicalism, and teleology. We welcome proposals that explore the contributions of Simon and De Koninck as well as figures like Stanley Jaki and William Wallace. We also encourage proposals on the cultural impact of contemporary science and its related technologies.

In the tradition of our Association, we look forward to proposals that in various ways further the understanding of the work of Jacques and Raïssa Maritain and of other Thomists who help to clarify our “interesting times.”

The École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris is pleased to announce that it will include a series of events related to the work of Étienne Gilson as part of the celebration of the school's foundingin 1868. For more information about the celebration, see:

●International Institute for Culture Sunday Brunch and Lecture Series at Ivy Hall 2018

Goodness, Truth and Beauty are the properties of God, and they inexorably draw us to Him. We were created by Him and for Him, and when we encounter those realities in our lives we encounter God. The IIC had presented a series of lectures entitled "In the Beauty of Holiness: Art, Architecture and the Transcendent". A new series "In the Beauty of Holiness: Music and the Transcendent" has events listed below. A hot brunch will be served at 12:45 p.m. at Ivy Hall following the 11:30 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes. The lecture will begin at 2:00 p.m. The suggested donation for the brunch and lecture is $15 per person and $35 per family.

In the Beauty of Holiness: Music and the Transcendent

Sunday, February 4

"Pythagoras, Bach and Universal Harmony in the Great B-Minor Mass"Dr. Lorenzo Candelaria

Sunday, March 4:

"Music in Honor of San Gennaro: Early Modern Martyr, Miracle Worker, and Musical Protagonist"

Dr. Anthony DelDonna

Sunday, April 8

"The Island of Catholic Exuberance in Protestant Germany:

Music of the Dresden Court"

Dr. Timothy McDonnel

●Aquinas and "the Arabs"

For information about Richard Taylor's "Aquinas and the 'Arabs'" International Working Group and upcoming conferences and seminars hosted by this organization, see:

Fr. Canavan was one of the greatest Jesuit intellectuals of the 20th century!

The Kindle promotion is intended to garner Amazon reviews of the book. En Route Books and Media will do a drawing whereby five readers who review the book on Amazon by February 1, 2018, will receive free print copies -- for more on this, see En Route's website at http://enroutebooksandmedia.com/funisnotenough/.

Note that all proceeds from the book go to Human Life Review to aid it in its work on behalf of God's greatest gift - life itself!